Increased usage of spray forms of building insulation has led to the development and widespread use of combination insulation stop and ventilation baffle articles such as that disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,553 granted Feb. 4, 1975. Such baffles are utilized to assist in the installation of loose fiber or particulate thermal insulation to the crawl space or attic between the ceiling and roof of a building structure. This is done to avoid water damage that is often attributed to inadequate installation of thermal insulation which obstructs ventilation space immediately below the roof and above the ceiling. The baffle articles also enable placement of the loose fill or particulate insulation over the exterior plate of the wall, an area which is very difficult to properly insulate without obstructing air flow through soffit ventilators.
A problem existing with the current forms of combined insulation stop and ventilation baffles is in the handling and placement of the baffles between roof rafters. The roof is typically at a pitch relative to the ceiling that severely restricts access to the wall plate where the baffle is to be installed. Of course, with low pitch roofs, access is nearly impossible.
The problem of holding the baffle articles in place between the roof rafters is solved by the baffle that is the subject of my current application, Ser. No. 910,602 filed on May 30, 1978. It discloses a baffle article with a flexible rod of a length somewhat greater than the distance between adjacent roof rafters. The article can be inserted between rafters with the ends of the rod engaging the rafters and causing the rod to bend along its length. Spring action of the rod operates against the adjacent rafters to hold the baffle article in place relative to the plate. While this form of baffle article is quickly and easily placed, the installer must gain access to the area above the wall plate before the article can be installed. Therefore, the access problem remains and it becomes very desirable to obtain some form of tool for handling and placing baffle articles such as those described above between roof rafters of building structures.